Need help?Do you have a question about the MACROMEDIA DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR and is the answer not in the manual?
Overview of Director as a multimedia authoring tool, highlighting its capabilities for creating interactive experiences.
Highlights new features in Director MX 2004 designed for authoring efficiency and integration with other media types.
Information sources for learning Director, including printable PDF files and online help available on the Director website.
Description of the Tool palette's capabilities for creating and manipulating sprites on the Stage, including different views.
Details on setting Stage properties via the Property inspector, including Display Template, Movie, and Guides tabs.
Explanation of cast members as media and assets in a movie, and how they are organized and created.
Guidance on creating new internal or external casts to organize cast members, with best practices for movie size.
Overview of the Cast window's functionality for organizing media, moving cast members, and launching editors.
Instructions for customizing the appearance of Cast windows, including view options, columns, and thumbnail settings.
How to display and set properties for cast members using the Property inspector, including common fields and Xtra member properties.
Methods for searching cast members by name, type, or color palette to clean up movies or locate specific assets.
Guide to importing various media formats into Director, including options for standard import and linking to external files.
Explanation of tweening for sprite properties in keyframes and how Director changes properties between them.
How to tween a sprite's path directly on the Stage by editing keyframe indicators and adjusting the path.
Using Ease-In and Ease-Out settings in the Sprite Tweening dialog box to create more natural sprite motion.
How to tween sprite properties like size, rotation, skew, blend, and color for animation effects.
Tips and shortcuts to improve productivity and results when tweening sprites in Director.
How to use the Sprite Tweening dialog box to control tweening properties, path curvature, speed, and ease-in/out.
Technique to change a sprite's cast member while maintaining other sprite properties, useful for animation.
Using the Edit Sprite Frames option to adjust sprite selection and keyframe creation for frequent animation changes.
Method for creating complex animation using a series of cast members within a single sprite.
Utilizing Cast to Time and Space to Time commands for efficient animation with multiple cast members.
Creating animated sequences as single cast members for repetitive motions and consolidating score data.
Determining film loop framing, repeat settings, and sound mute options via cast member properties.
Animating one frame at a time by recording sprite positions, useful for irregular paths.
Creating animation by recording sprite movement across the Stage, useful for simulating pointers or complex motion.
Using script to create animation by controlling sprite location and cast members based on movie conditions.
Guide to importing bitmaps, considering color depth, palette, and resolution for optimal display and performance.
Importing and setting properties for animated GIFs, including direct-to-Stage playback and rate control.
Overview of the Paint window's tools and controls for creating and editing bitmap cast members.
Detailed explanation of selection tools (Lasso, Marquee), registration point changes, and editing functions within the Paint window.
Instructions for using the Lasso tool to select irregular areas or polygons and adjust selection settings.
Guide to using the Marquee tool for selecting artwork, stretching, compressing, moving, and copying selections.
How to use the Airbrush tool for spraying colors, defining spray settings, and controlling flow rate and dot size.
Techniques for using the Brush tool for strokes, selecting brush types, and painting shapes or lines.
Using Transform Bitmap to modify bitmap cast members' size, color depth, and palette, with considerations for script and external editors.
Using script for pixel manipulation, image object creation, and controlling bitmap properties like picture and color.
How to create image objects from cast members or the Stage, and edit their data using scripting commands.
Using scripting commands to manipulate pixels, crop images, draw new pixels, and work with mask and alpha channels.
Creating gradients in the Paint window using Brush, Bucket, or shape tools, and controlling gradient types and colors.
Changing gradient settings in the Gradient Settings dialog box, including type, method, direction, and spread.
Selecting and editing patterns in the Paint window, including creating custom tiles for filling areas efficiently.
Modifying patterns using the Pattern Settings dialog box, including standard sets and custom pattern editing.
Creating custom tiles for filling large areas efficiently, reducing memory usage and download time.
Applying paint window inks to create color effects for bitmap cast members, affecting sprites and cast members.
Applying plug-in image editors (filters) to bitmap images for effects within Director.
Creating dramatic animated effects with bitmap filters using Auto Filter for incremental filter application.
Creating or editing animated sequences using reference cast members as backgrounds in the Paint window.
Pasting PICT images into the cast while retaining PICT format, with considerations for memory and animation.
Viewing and changing bitmap cast member properties like name, alpha settings, highlighting, and dithering.
Changing names and properties of PICT cast members, including unload priority and external file linking.
Modifying Paint window settings for tools, drawing methods, color cycling, line width, and blend effects.
Compressing bitmap images for faster downloading over the Internet at the movie or cast member level.
Creating vector shapes using Pen and shape tools in the Vector Shape window, defining points and handles.
Setting fill color, line width, background color, and fill type for vector shapes using window controls or script.
Modifying vector shapes by moving, adding, or deleting control points and adjusting curve control.
Specifying gradient types, placement, and color cycling for vector shapes using the Vector Shape window or script.
Using script to modify vector shapes by setting properties and methods related to vertices.
Viewing and changing vector shape properties like name, unload, and anti-aliasing in the Property inspector.
Creating simple shapes directly on the Stage using Line, Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, and Ellipse tools.
Viewing and changing shape cast member properties like type, fill, and line size using the Property inspector or script.
Understanding how Director manages colors, differences between RGB and index color, and color selection methods.
Using palette index values or RGB values to specify colors, and choosing the color mode for the current movie.
Setting the movie's color depth using Lingo/JavaScript or system utilities, and how it affects authoring and saving.
Using the Color menu to select colors for Stage, vector shapes, and sprites, including hexadecimal values and favorite colors.
Using the palette channel in the Score to define active palettes for frames, and considerations for web playback.
Creating and managing color palette cast members, including naming, unloading, and editing palette colors.
Understanding tempo as frames per second, controlling it via Score or puppetTempo method, and factors affecting movie speed.
Setting tempo, wait, and cue point properties in the Frame Properties: Tempo dialog box.
Ensuring consistent movie tempo across computers by locking frame durations in the Movie Playback Properties dialog box.
Creating brief animations between frames using Director's built-in transitions or Xtra extensions.
Adding transitions to the Score by placing them in the transition channel and setting category and duration.
Setting values for transition cast members using the Property inspector, including unload priority and Xtra-specific options.
Embedding fonts to ensure proper display and distribution, including options for bitmap versions and character subsets.
Methods for creating text cast members directly on the Stage or within the Text window, and importing text from external files.
Editing text directly on the Stage or using the Text inspector, Font, and Paragraph dialog boxes for formatting.
Setting font, style, size, line spacing, color, and kerning for text cast members using the Font dialog box.
Specifying alignment, indentation, tabs, and spacing for paragraphs within text cast members.
Applying formatting changes to multiple text cast members simultaneously using the Text inspector or dialog boxes.
Utilizing the Text inspector for compact formatting controls on Stage or for entire cast members.
Understanding anti-aliasing for smoother text appearance, its effect on different font types, and how to adjust the setting.
Specialized spacing between characters to improve text appearance, particularly for large headlines.
Using the Find > Text command to quickly search for and replace text within Text, Field, or Script windows.
Turning selected text into a hypertext link to a URL or initiating other actions using the Text inspector.
Editing and formatting field cast members, similar to text but with limitations on spacing, tabs, and indents.
Allowing users to enter or edit text directly on the Stage or via script, affecting the cast member and associated sprites.
Changing text or field cast members into bitmaps for editing in the Paint window, noting that the conversion is irreversible.
Using the Fontmap.txt file to map fonts between Windows and Macintosh platforms for consistent field appearance.
Setting properties for text and field cast members via the Property inspector, including editability, pre-rendering, and anti-aliasing.
Incorporating Flash vector-based animation into Director movies and projectors by importing Flash content as cast members.
Procedure for creating Flash cast members and setting properties, including importing SWF files and setting media options.
Using launch-and-edit integration to edit Flash cast members by launching the Flash authoring tool from Director.
Using script for precise control over Flash content display, streaming, and property management.
Controlling Flash content appearance on the Stage, including scaling, rotation, flipping, and ink effects.
Accessing and manipulating Flash variables and executing methods directly on Director sprites using script.
Sending messages from Flash content to Director using the getURL ActionScript function for communication.
Creating and accessing Flash ActionScript objects, arrays, dates, Booleans, and XML objects using Lingo or JavaScript.
Routing events from Flash objects to specific script handlers using the setCallback() method.
Connecting and communicating between separate Flash content and Director movies using the Local Connection object.
Communicating with Flash Communication Server MX using NetConnection and NetStream objects in script.
Displaying the Flash Settings panel to allow users to choose privacy, storage, camera, and microphone settings.
Tips for achieving optimal playback performance from Flash content, including quality settings and tempo management.
Importing Director movies into another movie as internal or linked cast members for complex productions.
Controlling properties of linked Director movies, including cropping, scaling, scripts, sound, and looping.
Embedding ActiveX controls in Director for Windows to manage application resources and create sprites.
Procedure for inserting ActiveX controls onto the Stage, noting platform-specific design.
Viewing and editing ActiveX control properties like color, text, font, and state via the Control Properties dialog box.
Calling methods exposed by ActiveX controls to perform actions like retrieving or modifying text.
Responding to events generated by ActiveX controls, such as click or dateChanged, by writing event handlers.
Utilizing bundled Flash components for user interface elements like buttons and list boxes, and creating custom components.
Selecting Flash components from the Library palette or the Tool palette for use in Director movies.
Setting unique parameters for Flash components to change appearance and behavior, using Property inspector or scripting.
Responding to events broadcast by Flash components, such as user interactions, by writing event handlers in Lingo or JavaScript.
Using the Button component for resizable UI buttons, with options for custom icons and toggle behavior.
Using check boxes for gathering true/false values that are not mutually exclusive, like hobby selections in a form.
Implementing a calendar component for users to select dates, with parameters for month names, day names, and disabled dates.
Creating single-line text labels formatted with HTML, controlling alignment, and sizing without borders or focus.
Using scrollable single- or multiple-selection list boxes that can display graphics and custom movie clips as rows.
Allowing users to select numeric values with up/down arrow buttons, controlling step size and range.
Implementing radio buttons for user selection from a group of mutually exclusive options, like credit card choices.
Displaying content too large for the area in a scrollable pane, loading from local or internet sources.
Creating multiline text fields for comments or forms, with options for HTML compatibility, editability, and word wrap.
Creating single-line text fields, including password fields, with styles for customization.
Representing hierarchical data structures using XML data sources, with nodes as leaves or branches.
Overview of basic 3D operations using built-in behaviors and scripting languages like Lingo or JavaScript syntax.
Key components of 3D in Director MX, including Stage, Score, Cast window, Property inspector, and Behavior library.
Using the 3D Xtra to import 3D models and worlds, convert 2D text to 3D, and build 3D environments with behaviors.
Inspecting and editing properties of 3D cast members using the Shockwave 3D window, including camera controls and playback.
Modifying 3D cast members using the Property inspector's 3D Model tab for camera, preload, animation, and loop settings.
Selecting rendering methods (#auto, #openGL, #directX, #software) based on hardware for optimal 3D display performance.
Improving graphics appearance by smoothing jagged lines and edges in 3D sprites, with options to turn it on and off.
Using the Director Behavior library for 3D-specific behaviors, categorized into local, public, trigger, and independent actions.
Creating and modifying 3D text by converting 2D text, setting properties, and manipulating it with script or behaviors.
Overview of 3D cast member structure, including model resources, models, lights, cameras, shaders, textures, and motions.
Understanding model resources as 3D geometry pieces for rendering models, their reusability, and common properties.
Working with models, including basic operations like count, access by name/index, cloning, and deletion.
Defining model surface appearance using shaders, with descriptions of available shaders and basic shader operations.
Applying 2D images as textures to model surfaces, with texture properties and operations for managing them.
Understanding motions as predefined animation sequences for models, and performing basic motion operations.
Using lights to illuminate the 3D world, controlling their color, direction, and intensity.
Defining cameras as viewports into the 3D world, controlling their position, orientation, and properties.
Associating models, lights, and cameras into groups for easier manipulation, using parent-child hierarchies.
Steps to create 3D text by first creating 2D text and then converting it to 3D.
Adjusting properties of 3D text, including camera position, rotation, and extrusion settings.
Using Lingo or JavaScript syntax methods and properties to work with 3D text, including exceptions.
Listing methods and properties that behave differently when used with 3D text.
Building and controlling 3D environments using prewritten behaviors from the Behavior Library without scripting.
How to attach 3D behaviors to sprites or frames, specify parameters, and use behavior groups.
Assigning behaviors to groups to initiate actions across multiple sprites using a single trigger.
Understanding models as objects in the 3D world and model resources as geometry definitions.
Working with models, including basic operations like count, access by name/index, cloning, and deletion.
Understanding model resources as reusable 3D geometry, their properties, and file-defined resource properties.
Creating primitives like spheres, cylinders, boxes, planes, particles, and meshes using methods and properties.
Defining model surface appearance using shaders, with descriptions of available shaders and basic shader operations.
Applying 2D images as textures to model surfaces, with texture properties and operations for managing them.
Understanding motions as predefined animation sequences for models, and performing basic motion operations.
Using lights to illuminate the 3D world, controlling their color, direction, and intensity.
Defining cameras as viewports into the 3D world, controlling their position, orientation, and properties.
Associating models, lights, and cameras into groups for easier manipulation, using parent-child hierarchies.
Controlling model rendering and behavior using modifiers like LOD, Toon, SDS, Bones Player, Keyframe Player, Inker, Collision.
Controlling model polygon count based on camera distance using automatic or manual LOD settings.
Changing model rendering to cartoon style using few colors, controlling color steps, shadows, highlights, and line color.
Adding silhouette, crease, and boundary edges to models using the inker modifier properties.
Rendering models with additional geometric detail using SDS modifier, available for models created outside Director.
Notifying and responding to collisions using the collision modifier, controlling details via properties like enabled and resolve.
Overriding default collision behavior using methods like resolveA and resolveB to manually resolve collisions.
Applying animation modifiers like Bones player and Keyframe player to models for playback of animations.
Methods for working with bones animations, including playing, queuing, removing, and pausing motions.
Properties for controlling bones animations, such as playing state, playlist, current time, play rate, and root lock.
Methods for working with keyframe animations, including playing, queuing, removing, and pausing.
Properties for controlling keyframe animations, such as playing state, playlist, current time, and blend time.
Using registerForEvent to specify handlers for events within cast members, with details on event types and arguments.
Enabling models to automatically respond to collisions using the collision modifier and controlling collision details.
Properties related to collisions, such as modelA, modelB, pointOfContact, and collisionNormal, used within collision handlers.
Overriding default collision behavior using resolveA and resolveB methods to manually resolve collisions.
Determining which models have been clicked within a 3D sprite using scripts, allowing for interaction.
Methods for determining clicked models, translating coordinates between 3D and 2D space, and manipulating camera positions.
Describing direction and location in 3D space using vectors, and performing calculations for movement and rotation.
Creating vector objects from arguments representing axes, or randomly chosen points on a unit sphere.
Properties of vector objects, including magnitude, length, and access to individual components (x, y, z).
Methods for normalizing vectors, calculating dot products, angles between vectors, and distances.
Syntaxes for performing additional vector math calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Data objects describing a model’s position, orientation, and scale, and methods for moving and rotating them.
Using the transform() method to create a new transform data object, initialized as the identity transform.
Properties for working with transforms, including position, scale, rotation, axisAngle, and userData.
Methods for transforming models, including rotate, preRotate, translate, multiply, interpolate, duplicate, invert, and identity.
Encapsulates information about functionality common to 3D cast members and sprites, including mesh generators and modifiers.
Global getRendererServices() object properties like renderer and rendererDeviceList for querying active renderers.
Properties to control which renderer the movie uses, such as preferred3dRenderer and active3dRenderer.
Controlling cast member properties for 3D, including preload, animationEnabled, loop, and camera settings.
Methods to reset cast member properties to original values, such as revertToWorldDefaults() and resetWorld().
Understanding MIAWs as a combination of a window object and a movie object, distinct from standard windows.
Explicitly creating or declaring a MIAW using Lingo or JavaScript syntax before setting its properties.
Associating a movie's filename and title with a MIAW using the open window method.
Methods for opening and closing MIAWs, including options to keep the movie in memory or remove it.
Controlling MIAW size and appearance by setting screen coordinates and using rect, drawRect, and sourceRect properties.
Setting window appearance properties using Lingo/JavaScript or Display Template for title, type, location, and resizability.
Controlling whether a movie appears in front of or behind other windows using moveToFront() and moveToBack() methods.
Using event handlers for typical MIAW events like window movement, resizing, opening, closing, activation, and tray icon interaction.
Displaying a list of all known MIAWs in the main movie using the windowList property.
Interacting between MIAWs and the main movie by accessing window movie properties and global variables.
Understanding XML as a markup language for defining content, its structure, and advantages over text documents.
Accessing XML document nodes using Lingo or JavaScript syntax and converting data to property lists.
Accessing different types of nodes (element, text, processing instruction) and their properties within an XML document.
Accessing tag attributes and their values using attributeName and attributeValue properties in XML documents.
Understanding how the parser object stores the XML document's tree structure and the properties of nodes.
Changing how the XML Parser Xtra treats white space using the ignoreWhiteSpace() method.
Understanding XML character sets and encoding, particularly UTF-8 and ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1).
Understanding government mandates for multimedia accessibility, including text-to-speech, captioning, and keyboard navigation.
Methods for making Director movies accessible using behaviors or custom scripts, including text-to-speech and keyboard navigation.
Adding text-to-speech capability using the Speech Xtra extension and its script methods.
Performing a simple test to verify correct configuration of text-to-speech software.
Making movies accessible via keyboard navigation, text-to-speech, and captioning using behaviors from the Library palette.
Making sprites navigable with the keyboard using accessibility behaviors like Target, Item, and Group Order.
Adding text-to-speech functionality for visually impaired users, requiring keyboard navigation and specific behaviors.
Writing custom scripts for text-to-speech functionality, including initializing speech software and managing voices.
Steps for successfully deploying accessible movies, including Speech Xtra requirements and download procedures.
Understanding automatic unloading of cast members based on purgePriority script property to manage memory.
Using script methods like preLoadMember() and unLoadMember() to control cast member loading and unloading.
Safely preloading digital video by placing sprites offstage and setting movieRate to 0 to prevent premature playback.
Guidelines for managing project resources and file organization to prevent broken links and simplify updates.
Strategies for testing movies early and often during development to discover and fix problems.
Defining audience, minimum system requirements, and testing across different configurations like OS and browser.
Methods for testing movies effectively, including isolating problems, testing with different media, and checking script for errors.
Printing movie content for review, editing, handouts, or paper records, with options for Stage, Score, Cast, and scripts.
Available resources for testing and troubleshooting Director movies, including TechNotes and website links.
Choices for distributing movies as Shockwave content or projectors, including compressed data and stand-alone applications.
Saving work as Shockwave (DCR) for browser playback or smaller disk-based movies, with Xtra extension management.
Creating Shockwave content and projectors using the File > Publish command with default settings.
Modifying Publish Settings using dialog boxes for Formats, Projector, Files, Shockwave, HTML, and Image tabs.
Choosing movie formats like Projector, Shockwave File, HTML, or Image file, and setting options for cross-platform projectors.
Creating DCR and HTML files for displaying DCR movies, including settings for dimensions, compression, and browser compatibility.
Setting projector options for stage appearance, browser display, player type, and file components like linked casts and Xtras.
Configuring file options for projectors, including including linked cast files, excluding Xtras, compressing files, and adding/removing files.
Setting Shockwave Player options for version, image compression, audio compression, and context menu items.
Configuring HTML options for browser resizing, background color, dimensions, and stretch style.
Utilizing dswmedia folders for local media access in safe player mode and maintaining directory structure for testing.
Enabling linked files to show on a local machine by creating a 'dswmedia' folder and placing all linked media within it.
Converting movies from earlier Director versions to the latest file format using the Update Movies command.
Understanding projectors as stand-alone movie versions requiring Xtra extensions, with options for fast-start projectors.
Including Director MX 2004 movies in projectors, converting older movies, and setting projector options.
Managing Xtra extensions by placing them in external directories for faster startup and easier updates.
Creating projectors that run on different platforms (Windows/Macintosh) by authoring on one and exporting for the other.
Supporting custom Xtra extensions in cross-platform projectors, considering filename entries and fork file requirements.
Using Update Movies to convert, compress, protect, and batch-process movies and casts.
Exporting movie parts as digital video or series of bitmaps (BMP, PICT), noting loss of interactivity.
Specifying options for exporting QuickTime digital video, including frame rate, compressor, quality, and color depth.
Understanding streaming for immediate user experience, playing content as it downloads, and reducing perceived download time.
Enabling network operations to begin before completion, performing multiple operations simultaneously for background loading.
Adjusting basic streaming settings, download frames before playing, showing placeholders, and locking tempo.
Setting Shockwave playback options for image compression, audio compression, and context menu items.
Using Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX for multiuser movies and applications.
Arranging the Score and using behaviors to control the playhead for smooth streaming and media downloading.
Using behaviors to return the playhead to a frame or stay on the current frame until media elements download.
Using behaviors to skip to a frame or marker after media elements have downloaded.
Checking if cast members or frames are loaded using mediaReady() and frameReady() methods for network operations.
Retrieving data from the Internet using getNetText(), postNetText(), gotoNetMovie(), and gotoNetPage() methods.
Retrieving network operation results like text, MIME type, and last modified date using netTextResult() and netLastModDate().
Understanding differences in Lingo/JavaScript syntax behavior across browsers, projectors, and authoring environments.
Thoroughly testing movies before release, checking performance on slow connections, linked media, and target platforms.
Understanding theoretical throughput times for network access technology and their impact on download times.
General| Brand | MACROMEDIA |
|---|---|
| Model | DIRECTOR MX 2004-USING DIRECTOR |
| Category | Software |
| Language | English |
To Next Page